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Riverside business owners ask board for proximity rules; attorney says village authority is limited
Summary
A group of downtown business owners presented a petition asking the Village of Riverside to adopt an ordinance to prevent the opening of similar businesses immediately adjacent to each other; Village Attorney Pickrell told the board zoning can regulate uses by district but not competition between businesses.
RIVERSIDE, Ill. — Business owners and residents urged the Village of Riverside Board of Trustees on May 15 to consider proximity guidelines after several downtown merchants complained that new, similar businesses opened literally next door to existing establishments.
Janabelle Chap, introduced as a resident and business owner, and others presented a petition asking the village to consider an ordinance or licensing rule to “prevent similar business over‑saturation” and to require a reasonable distance between businesses offering the same primary goods or services. Chap said the petition includes signatures from multiple merchants and residents and that the request is not intended to prevent new businesses from opening generally.
Village Attorney Pickrell responded on the record that the village’s authority derives from the Illinois Municipal Code. He told the petitioners that while zoning allows the village to list permitted uses in a district (for example, restaurants), the code does not permit the village to regulate competition among businesses within a district by restricting cuisine type or forbidding the same use from locating adjacent to an existing business. “We simply lack the authority to regulate competition amongst businesses within that district,” Pickrell said.
Several speakers, including owners of long-standing restaurants, emphasized the practical consequences of adjacent competitors and said the village should explore policy options. Assistant Manager Monroe and President Pollack acknowledged the petition and Pickrell said he would read the petition and follow up with staff to provide additional feedback or meetings with the affected business owners.
Outcome: Attorney Pickrell offered a legal explanation and agreed to review the petition and provide more detailed follow-up. The board did not enact any ordinance or regulatory change at the meeting.
The discussion clarified limits of municipal authority: zoning can restrict uses by district but generally cannot regulate how many businesses of a particular cuisine type may operate in a given block, the attorney said. The matter of street vendors and mobile trucks was treated separately later in the meeting and is governed by different considerations because food trucks are mobile and involve right-of-way and public-safety impacts.
No formal policy or ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff will follow up with petitioners and attorneys for additional analysis and potential next steps.
